Baby feeding bottleholder and teether



June 3, 1941. l KLAUS 2,243,870

BABY FEEDING BOTTLEHOLDER AND TEETHER Filed April 20, 1939 Patented June 3, 1941 OFFICE BABY FEEDING BOTTLEHOLDER AND 'rnn'rnna Justin A. Klaus, St. Louis, Mo.

Application April 20, 1939, Serial No. 268,992

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved bottleholder and teether adapted for use in feeding vide a holder and teether likewise adapted to be disposed at either side of a crib or bed for feeding an infant while lying on its side and provided with a base portion adapted to be positioned beneath the pad or blanket of the crib or bed to prevent the holder from tipping.

Still a further aim of the invention, is to provide a holder and teether formed from a strand of wire connected at its ends and provided with a flexible and pliable teething casing, said holder being sufliciently resilient to frictionally engage and hold a bottle in the proper elevated position so that it may be drained; and said holder being so shaped that the bottle holding portion will be disposed above its supporting base whereby the bottle may be so positioned therein as to be in balance with the holder to prevent the holder or bottle from being tipped or upset.

A particular advantage of the invention resides in the fact that it is of ,very simple construction, capable of being economically manufactured and of being easily kept in a clean sanitary condition so that the holder and teether may be used indefinitely.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein- Figure 1 is a top plan view showing the holder and teether supporting a feeding bottle with its base portion disposed beneath pads or blankets on which an infant ;is lying on its side,

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing-the holder and teether used to support a feeding bottle in position to feed an infant lying on its back,

Figure 3 is a side elevational View partly in section of the holder and teether showing two positions in which a feeding bottle may be supported,

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 44 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a top plan view partly in section of the holder, and

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the different views, l0 designates generally the holder and teether for feeding bottles for babies comprising the invention which comprises a strand of wire II connected at its ends by the tubular coupling l2, which parts are enclosed by means of the tubular teething casing I3, the ends of which meet over the coupling l2, as best seen in Figure 6.

Casing I3 may be formed of any suitable material preferably one which is relatively thick, pliable and flexible, so that it has all the properties of a teether and is designed to be usedas such, and which is capable of being washedor otherwise cleaned without being damaged.

The holder and teether I0 is bent in shape to form the bottle holding portion M which is generally U-shaped in form, but having the portion of the strand of wire H which extends through the bottle holding portion It so bent as to form a plurality of sides so that theportion 14, as best illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, preferably comprises four distinct sides adapted to receive four sides of a bottle l5 which is polygonal shaped in cross section and which as illustrated in Figure 4 has six sides. Obviously, portion i4 could be shaped to engage three sides of a bottle which is rectangular in cross section, or the portion It could be substantially semi-circular to engage half of a round bottle.

Formed integral with the ends of the bottle holding portion I 4 and disposed at acute angles thereto are the portions l6 which are disposed in depending relationship to portion [4 and in diverging relationship to each other. The diverging ends of the members it are formed integral with the ends of a U-shaped base portion I! which is disposed at acute angles to the supporting members l6 so that the bottle holding portion I4 is disposed above the base I! and adjacent tonne of its ends. The intermediate portion l8 of the U-shaped base I! is bowed upwardly, as best seen in Figure 4, for a purpose which will hereinafter be described.

The holder and teether I0 is adapted to be used for holding a feeding bottle to feed a baby while lying either on its side or on its back. In

Figure 1 the device is illustrated in position for feeding an infant while lying on its side with the base portion l'l thereof positioned beneath the blanket or pad IS, on which the infant is lying and at one side thereof. In this position of the holder and teether II], the bottle I5 is engaged in the portion [4 adjacent its bottom end with its neck extending toward the intermediate portion l8 of the base l'l, With the bottle H5 in thi position the holder and teether l and bottle 15 may be adjusted to be substantially balanced so that where it is not convenient to position the base I! beneath blankets or a pad the holder and teether l0 will nevertheless be sufliciently stable to support the bottle l5. In Figure 2 the holder is shown as used for supporting the bottle l for feeding a child while lying on its back and in this position the base I! is rested on the infants chest and covered with a blanket or other suitable covering used to cover the infant, designated 20, in the manner as illustrated in Figure 2. When the holder and teether I0 is used in this manner the bottle 15 is positioned in the portion M with its neck projecting away from the base I! and since it is mounted adjacent to its bottom it will be obvious that the weight of the bottle and its contents would tend to tilt the holder and teether ill to raise the base l1, and it is for this reason that the base is covered by the blanket 20 and thereby held against tilting.

The bowed intermediate portion l8 of the holder, when used as in Figure 2, due to its shape will fit the contour of the infants body so that the device may be used in this way without discomfort and as the weight of the holder and teether I0 is very slight, it and the bottle may be readily supported on the body of the infant without subjecting it to undue weight. Holder and teether Ill as a whole is resilient and the. portion it is especially resilient due to the natural resiliency of that portion of the strand or wire H which forms a part of the bottle holding portion M and also due to the angular relationship of the supporting members E6 to the portion M which combine to enable portion it to be sprung outwardly to receive the bottle l5 and to thereby be held under tension so that the bottle will be frictionally engaged with sufiicient pressure to prevent it from being accidentally dislodged from the holder. It is intended of course that the portion M will have a smaller interior than the exterior of the bottle I5 so that said portion must be expanded to receive the bottle, and obviously the size of portion M may be varied depending upon the cross sectional size of the bottie to be held. Furthermore, holder and teether l0 may be sufliciently resilient to adapt it for holding bottles I5 of more than one size.

Various modifications and changes in the me ciseconstruction and arrangement of the parts as illustrated, may obviously be made and are contemplated and the right is therefore reserved to make such variations and changes in the invention as do not depart from the spirit and scope thereof as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A baby feeding bottleholder comprising a substantially U-shaped supporting base, the legs of said U-shaped base terminating in upwardly and inwardly bent supporting arms disposed at acute angles to said base, and a substantially U-shaped bottle holding member having its ends formed integral with the upper ends of said arms, said bottle holding member being disposed above the base and intermediate of its ends and being resilient to releasably and frictionally engage the body portion of a bottle.

2. An article as in claim 1, said base portion being adapted to rest on a baby's chest and to be held in position thereon by means of blankets or other suitable covering, and the base having an intermediate portion, arcuately shaped, to fit the contour of the baby's body.

3. A holder for polygonal shaped baby feeding bottles comprising a bottleholder and teether formed of a strand of wire connected at its ends, a flexible and pliable teething casing for said strand, said holder including an elevated bottle holding portion having a depending intermediate portion comprising a plurality of sides adapted to engage a plurality of sides of a polygonal shaped feeding bottle, legs formed integral with the ends of said intermediate portion and disposed in diverging and depending relationship to each other, and a substantially U-shaped supporting base having its ends formed integral with the ends of said legs and disposed at acute angles thereto, .said holder being adapted to engage the bottle adjacent its bottom end with its neck extending toward the intermediate portion of the base whereby the bottle will be supported in proper elevated position to drain the contents and balanced by the holder, on its own equilibrium, independent of attachment or support.

4. A baby feeding bottleholder comprising a frame formed of a single strand of wire joined at its ends, said frame including a substantially U-shaped base, said base having an upwardly bowed intermediate portion, arms formed integral with the ends of the base and projecting upwardly in converging relationship, said arms being disposed at acute angles to the base, and said arms terminating in a depending substantially semicircular portion for frictionally engaging a bottle with its neck extending in either direction therefrom, said semi-circular portion being disposed above and adjacent one end of the base.

. JUSTIN A. KLAUS. 

